Since 2013, the use of Private Military Contractors in warzones has only risen. Beginning in earnest with contracts in Takistan, companies like ION Incorporated have waged war for profit for over two decades. Since then, ION has declined as the premiere private security provider, with companies like Red Dragon Enterprises, Lonestar Solutions and Century Arms all vying for more contracts, more employees and above all else – more warzones.

Century Arms is the second largest PMC in the world, with over 10 thousand active armed personnel and another 50 thousand support staff. Its contractors are active in almost every major warzone on the planet, including Altis, Tanoa, Takistan and the African continent. It prides itself on what it calls a “direct action approach”. In layman’s terms, this means Century Arms focuses heavily on it’s infantry capability. It has a small fleet of helicopters, APCs and cargo planes but it’s primary goal is to train effective war fighters.

In 2012 I had the chance to see Century Arms employees in action. The company was in it’s infancy then, only several thousand men strong and based out of one building in Dubai. What I saw then, 20 years ago, were effective men and women. They were disciplined, loyal and above all else they enjoyed their work. Some might have said too much, they were after all fighting wars for money., often picking sides that seemed dubious at best to the western world.

The fate of Century Arms as a company changed radically with the rise of CSAT. The multinational organisation brought together a lot of the nation’s CA was deployed in. Local militias became effective fighting forces, armed with high tech equipment and support capability. We need only look at Africa to see this change in effect. The African Union’s military looks no different than the Chinese PLA. They all wear the same armour, carry the same weapons and rely on the same support network.

In effect – PMCs were neutered down to bodyguard work. They had no reason to be fighting the wars of poorer, third world countries.

Then, in 2027, Century Arms became famous the world over.

Providing security to IDAP facilities during the Altian Civil War, CA had kept itself out of the conflict. As the fighting went on, FIA Guerrillas became more and more desperate for supplies. To the starving soldiers, the CA employees seemed easy targets. What followed was a systematic destruction of FIA presence in and around the Altian town of Sofia. By all accounts, a single Century Arms contractor was hit, at which point the company ordered its troops to assault and destroy rebel positions. The 12-hour operation saw FIA forces either killed or captured entirely. Reports from eyewitness’s state that had the AAF not asked for them to stand down the company likely would have just kept going.

The move was in direct intervention to the UN’s Mercenary Convention, but had also technically fallen under the purview of protection of the company’s client. It didn’t make headline news, but CA had rewritten the rules. It was now legal for Private Contractors to wage war in all but name.

Which brings us to 2030. As the Jerusalem Accords were being written, and the civil war on Altis was ending – another document was written. CSAT had signed into legality the “Article for the use of Private Assets”. It is a long, complicated document but it’s main point of interest is that the convention puts into law that CSAT can and does hire PMCs and other independent assets to wage war on it’s orders. The convention also states that CSAT takes responsibility for the actions of these private individuals and companies, but to date they have never punished someone who has defied it.

Finally, we come to today. Century Arms actively works in CSAT territories, but also conducts standard security work here in the States. Whilst they may be in violation of the UN, America has never ratified the Mercenary Convention. Century Arms has now rewritten the playbook on war. It is now something that can be conducted for profit.

In this series of articles, AAN will examine the company and its actions over the last 10 years. From it’s early beginnings, to rumours of war crimes, al the way to now – 2035.